Bucky Barnes (notzimniysoldat) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2018-09-27 14:45:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !log, [plot] wild wild west, ~2018 september, ~25 points, ~~bucky barnes (notzimniysoldat), ~~molly walker (knowswhereulive) |
WHO Bucky Barnes & Molly Walker
WHAT Making a new friend
WHEN Thursday night after Steve/Bucky
WHERE The Saloon
WARNINGS He's a good dad even without being a dad
STATUS Closed | Complete gdoc
Molly knew that the saloon wasn’t the best place for a girl to be working, but there were worse ways to make a living and she needed to pull whatever income she could. She made decent money and only had to show a little bit of leg, a little of her chest, only had to let gross old men touch her outside of her clothes and dump whiskey all over her dresses. She went home almost every night smelling of the stuff and she hated it. But it was her life, and sometimes life threw her something that wasn’t so bad at all.
She spotted him come in and immediately realized he was different than a lot of the scraggly farmers who walked in. He wasn’t as dirty, for one, and he had nice eyes. Noticing his missing hand was secondary, but it was that that had Molly making the decision. She scooped up the drink he called for immediately, ignored the glares she got from other girls, and made her way to the table he’d sat himself at with a bright smile.
“Hey, mister,” she greeted, setting the drink into his hand and immediately sliding into his lap, draping his arms around his shoulders. It was all for show, all part of her act. Be sweet and be just a little flirtatious if they looked interested in that and get them to spend their money. The more they spent, the more they tended to touch, but that didn’t seem like it was going to be an issue with this one. He looked like he might be the kind who didn’t even want to be flirted at. “First one’s on me if you can keep everyone’s hands off me for a bit.”
***
Bucky stuck around after dropping the stew off at the Sheriff's, figured it would be a good idea to be around just in case. Not like he'd be much help with anything, but it'd make him feel better, so he headed into the saloon and found a table that was as out of the way as he could get. He rarely ever made his way into the saloon since he had better things to spend his money on, but a drink sounded pretty good and one appeared pretty damn quick courtesy of a saloon girl.
He was very startled when she just slid into his lap and put her arms around his shoulders. Her pronouncement that the first drink was on her if he could keep everyone's hands off her got her a confused stare for a moment. "Uh...I'll just pay for my drink, ma'am," Bucky replied, although he made no move to take it because he felt really awkward.
He glanced around the room and noticed a couple of fellas looking there way. Bucky glared at each of them and put his arm around her waist protectively. "You let me know if anyone gives you any trouble though. I'll set 'em right." She was young enough to be his youngest sister. It struck a nerve.
***
She didn’t move a muscle, just fluttered her eyes and stayed exactly where she was. “You’re gonna be setting a lot of fellas straight if you try to do that,” she said with a laugh. “Trouble’s all part of the job.”
Molly really didn’t love it. She wished she could have had a life where she could have kept going to school, been put out into society or whatever girls with means did. She was at an age when she should be looking for a husband sooner or later, the wedding the whole town was abuzz about featured a young woman no older than she was. If things had gone differently, she could be in those shoes soon enough. But they hadn’t, they wouldn’t, no man she’d want batting an eye at her was coming into the saloon looking for a wife and as long as she needed the money that was the only place she would be working.
“Boys’ve got a pistol behind the bar if anyone gets too out of hand. You know, to remind them to go down the street if that’s what they’re after.” There was a line, and that was it. The brothel offered one service the saloon and its girls never would.
***
He frowned at her response. It made him want to do something for her, but he wasn't sure what would be adequate or even the right approach. The Saloon wasn't a place he hung out at on a regular basis, nor did he really understand why the men of the town thought it right to get handsy with the Saloon girls. Probably because it was a lot cheaper than the Brothel, though he only knew that from word of mouth.
"What can I do?" he asked, since he didn't like the idea of just letting her back onto the floor if there wasn't anything he could do about it. Bucky wasn't interested in picking fights he wouldn't win and having a cripple stand up her wouldn't do anything good for her either. "Cause I can stick around til after your shift is done if it'll help."
He didn't have anywhere else to be and it wasn't like Kate was expecting him back home. His wife would also more than understand why he spent a few dollars for the next couple of hours in an effort to keep an eye on a young woman who definitely deserved better. Riggs ran a good place, but there was only so much he could do without pissing off his customers.
***
Molly didn’t know if her experience was the same as everyone else’s around the business. She did know, though, that one too many men had gotten ideas in their heads and just because her knees were out didn’t mean there was an invitation to touch them or any other part of her. There was only so much she could take in a week, though, and that had well passed already.
“I won’t have you minding me like that,” she scolded, just pushed his drink to him. “I’m just gonna stay right here until you’re done drinkin’ today. Maybe you can let me sell you a cigar or somethin’ too and we can talk.”
No one ever really wanted to just talk. They wanted to tell her stories or they wanted her to be just a little inappropriate. Sometimes the younger men came in and just wanted to talk about their sweethearts, and Molly hated that most of all. She wished someone would talk about her that way. Too bad it just wasn’t meant to be.
***
Apparently he was going about this all wrong, but at least she was willing to tell him what she needed. Bucky removed his hand from her waist and took a sip of his drink like she wanted him to. "Not much for smokin', but I don't mind some quiet conversation," he replied. He also didn't have the money for a cigar if he wanted to drink for the rest of the night. Or at least most of the night, since he wasn't going to just abandon her after one drink if it would keep her safe from some of the grabasses in the joint.
"I doubt you wanna hear about workin' on the farm," he mused. "Weather's a bit too lame for a pretty girl like you." She could tell he was married by the ring on his finger, so it didn't bear mentioning. "What's your name?" Bucky'd feel better if he had something proper to call her and it'd feel more like a proper conversation.
"I'm James Barnes, but most folks call me Bucky." He'd had buck teeth as a child and the horrid nickname had been something he'd owned to take the sting out of it. Then it had just stuck and he liked it better than James. James was too proper a name for a cripple.
***
Shifting just enough that she could face him, she smiled in a way that made her look very much like the innocent girl she still was.
“Molly Walker,” she returned easily. It was nice that he’d actually asked. Most men who came round didn’t care two bits who she was, or anything else about her. If they were the nice ones, they cared about sending her running to and fro for drinks and services, rarely ever looking at her like she was deserving their attention. The ones who gave it usually weren’t the sort she wanted it from. Maye she was unlucky like that; she’d seen some of the older ladies being courted by perfectly nice men from town. “Am I to take it, Mr. Barnes,” she tapped her finger against his hand to indicate his ring, “that you belong to the new deputy?”
She’d met Ms Kate. Like every other woman the sheriff employed, she was nice. And she treated everyone fair, like people regardless of how high their skirts were hiked. Molly liked her, though she couldn’t completely understand why a married woman would want a job like deputy. If she were married, she’d happily spend her time minding their home.
***
"It's nice to meet you, Ms Walker," he replied as he inclined his head. He got the feeling most people wouldn't take the time to ask her name, let alone treat her like a person. Bucky didn't understand those folks, but he had manners and afforded them to everyone, no matter what sort of life they led or where they came from.
"Indeed I do," he answered with a quirk of a smile in his lips. "An' you definitely got that the right way. My wife don't belong to anyone." She didn't take no for an answer either, not if it was something she wanted to do. Bucky was incredibly proud of her and knew she'd find success in Madison's Sheriff department. "We grew up together," he explained, figuring she wouldn't mind. "Got married a couple'a years ago now, after this." Bucky lifted his stump of a forearm to indicate that the wedding had been after lost part of his arm.
He took another sip of his drink as he contemplated what to say or ask next. "How long you been workin' here?" he settled on, wanting to know more about her without being creepy about it.
***
It was a nice thing, that he called her Ms anything. Most who came by the saloon just called her by her name and she didn’t really mind much, but it was respectful not to without the invitation. She appreciated it. She appreciated a lot about this man right now. He was different than most of the others.
Which was why she sat perfectly nicely perched on his knee, even pulled her skirt a little so the draping back came around to cover one leg a little more. “That’s a nice story.” She didn’t have anyone like that. Had come to town on her own and hadn’t had any childhood friends anymore anyhow. “But she could’ve done better.”
It wasn’t anything against him, was everything about Kate. Molly really did look up to her. She looked up to all the lady deputies. They were doing things women like Molly couldn’t.
“I’ve been here since I got to town. ‘Bout a year now.” Maybe it was that she was still relatively new that she was treated the way she was. It was nice to think that it would stop if she spent more time there. But chances were just as good that it was only because she was pretty, and that wasn’t changing any time soon. “Only started on for a place to stay.”
***
He appreciated that she called their story nice, but he had no problem agreeing that Kate deserved better for a husband. "Course she could've. But the thing is, Kate doesn't like much being told what to do. Another man might thing it his right to have a say in what she could do. They certainly wouldn't last long," he said before he took another swallow of his drink.
Kate was a good role model for anyone, especially a young woman like Molly Walker. Bucky made a mental note to remind his wife to look in on the Saloon girl currently keeping his company. She was a good kid from the looks of things, could've had it better and might end up having a worse time of it if luck didn't swing her way. He hoped it would.
"A year?" Bucky chuckled. "That probably tells you how often I've been in here." The last time had been a little over a year ago, so it made sense that they hadn't crossed paths until now. He really didn't like being around people as much as this, but it was for a good cause and he felt better being close by if his wife needed it.
"Ain't nothin' wrong with what you're doin'," he said quietly, just between them. "It's honest work, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
***
Even if he had come in, there was a good chance of not noticing her. Molly didn’t normally make such a spectacle of herself, sitting on customers and chatting with them. She did her work and tried to keep her head down, usually just tried, and more often failed, to ignore the ones who thought they could put hands on her. There was only so much she could take, though, and one of the worst offenders was about today.
Hopefully doing what she was doing would take his attention elsewhere.
She smiled softly, none of her usual bravado and not a bit of acting in it, at his quiet comment, placed her hand on his arm just for a moment longer than she probably ought have. “Thank you,” she said. “Not often anyone says they think so. A girl like me doesn’t exactly have a lot of other options.”
Without any particular skills and no marriage prospects in town, it had been here or at the brothel and Molly wouldn’t reduce herself that far if she didn’t have to.
***
There was something about her that made him want to give her a better life. He couldn't marry her, wouldn't have saddled that on her anyway, but maybe there was something else he could do to help besides having his wife keep an eye on her. She wouldn't be suited for farm work, but maybe she'd prefer keeping house for someone. Bucky had half a mind to send her back to his Ma. He'd have to send a letter to her to see if she knew of anyone back home that might be willing to take her in.
That'd be a lot better than him and Kate trying to take her in themselves.
"You've got the options you make for yourself," he told her firmly, sounding an awful lot like his father talking to his sisters. Maybe he was turning into his parents finally, perish the thought. Kate was going to laugh at him when he told her, since she'd gotten that same lecture a couple of times. She'd just taken it more to heart than his sisters.
"Don't sell yourself short. You've got a good head on your shoulders seems like. And, I'll tell you what. You know the Osbournes? You let Mrs Osbourne know I sent you and she'll let you make use of her library if you want." Reading wasn't the most exciting of past times, but it'd be a safe place for her to be for a little while if she wanted.
***
With a surprised laugh, Molly just shook her head. “You sound like my father.” When he’d been alive, which wasn’t really all that long ago now, she’d lost her parents not long before she’d come out to Madison Valley with her siblings. “He used to talk about us girls making something for ourselves one day too.”
She was pretty sure he’d just meant making sure they chose someone they didn’t loathe to marry, but she’d never know now.
“I don’t got the time for reading, even if I cared for it. Got a loaf of a brother and a little girl to be caring for when I’m not here.” Between her income and her brother’s, they made ends meet and managed to tuck enough away that they could educate the little one when she got a bit bigger. She’d be the one to make something of herself and have options. Molly worked for that. “But it’s real nice of you to say so. I don’t exactly get many people saying I’m worth much of anything.”
She didn’t have a lot of people to be saying it.
***
He smiled wryly at that. "Must'a been readin' my mind," he teased her. "I was just thinkin' bout how I sounded an awful lot like Pa back in the day." Molly'd get along great with his family, he could tell easy enough. Of course, when he heard about her brother and little sister, it just made him more determined to help her out. There wasn't any reason why he couldn't, but he wouldn't tell her until he heard word from his mother. The last thing he wanted to do was get her hopes up and then let her down. Bucky had a feeling he never wanted to be the cause of a frown on her face.
"You've got a lot on your plate, huh?" He put his hand on her back comfortingly, just a reassuring weight there for her to lean against if she wanted. If she needed. "Guessin' all those folks don't know just how good a sister you are." Bucky had always looked after his siblings and not just because he was the only boy. He genuinely loved his sisters, had learned how to braid their hair and how to wash all the clothes and how to cook. If it was good enough for his sisters, it was good enough for him. Other guys didn't have that same mindset and it always drove him crazy. That was why he preferred to be on his own.
"You ever get a night off from this place?" Bucky was asking to find out if he could invite her and her siblings over for dinner. Kate sure wouldn't mind, especially when he explained to her what their situation was. She understood how important family was to him.
***
His hand on her back didn’t strike her as anything to pay much attention to, not when he was showering her with the kind of positive attention he was. “I’m not so great. Our sister’s still only a baby, she’ll be two next month, so someone’s got to look after her. And I’m sure you know how boys are about all that.”
Her brother did help, as much as he was able. He’d learned to cook and clean and wash and raise the baby all in the year since they’d come to town. He didn’t complain about their home being one she’d found them in a hurry while getting hired at the saloon, he didn’t complain that some mornings she went home too weary to pack anything up for him to take for lunch and some days, if he had the time, he sent her to sleep a little longer before it was her turn to take the baby.
Molly didn’t think anything of that hand until he asked about her days off. Eyes narrowing, she moved to face him a little better, jarring his hand off of her in the process. “Don’t go making me think I misjudged you, Mr Barnes. I’m sure your wife’ll have something to say about it.”
***
Bucky did, indeed, know how boys where when toddlers were involved. He couldn't exactly commiserate thought because the next moment she narrowed her eyes at him and shifted so he wouldn't be touching her. Immediately - almost instinctively - he lifted his hand and his stump to indicate he wasn't going to touch her if she wasn't okay with it. Bucky even sat back a bit so the only place they were connected was where she was sitting on him.
"No, no. I was going to invite you and your siblings to dinner with me an' Kate. At our house," he explained. He'd really mucked that one up. "Wasn't tryin' to make a pass, promise." Bucky debated for a moment before he added, "You remind me of my sisters when they were your age." That would either go over well or it wouldn't, but he hastened to add, "You're real fearless, not afraid to stand up for yourself, and you'll do whatever you gotta for your family."
He was very earnest in his desire to help. "It ain't much, won't be the best, but we'd love to have you guys over for dinner if you wanna. An' if you don't, that's fine too. Just wouldn't'a been right to not offer."
***
For a moment, Molly just kept looking at him, not sure whether or not she could trust him after all. But he’d been so nice, he talked to her like a proper lady and he looked genuine. He was decent enough to look like he actually regretted the way he’d come across. He seemed genuinely good and knowing the kind of woman Kate was she doubted that she’d have kept that sort of husband around.
She should trust someone. It had been a long time only knowing her brother and the others who worked at the saloon.
“I guess you judged me right,” she said, settled back to being comfortable on his knee. “I’ll tell my brother you asked. But I’m sure he won’t mind if you or Ms Kate are a halfway decent cook. He’s probably tired of what I can put together.” Molly knew well enough how to put a meal together, but there was only so many times they could eat from her small repertoire.
***
He didn't quite hold his breath waiting for her reply, but he was certainly quite tense while she debated his intentions. Bucky felt awful that his lack of interpersonal skills had led to the misunderstanding, but it was a relief when she gave him the benefit of the doubt. He relaxed considerably and put his hand down, though he set it on the table as opposed to on her back again.
"We're definitely halfway decent," he promised with a grin. That was an easy mark to hit and one they'd be able to do easily. Although he was also fairly certain he'd have Kate's support in springing for something to make that the kids could take with them for another day or two. "Whatever day works best for you guys, just let either of us know, okay? Maybe a couple days beforehand?" That way they'd have time to shop.
***
“I’ll tell Miss Kate,” Molly promised earnestly. “I’m guessing I won’t be seeing you around town any time soon.” She hadn’t before, and knowing who he was that didn’t seem all that strange. Everyone knew that Kate Barnes’ husband preferred solitude, apparently only liked his wife and now, it seemed, a young lady from the saloon. That seemed odd, but from what she could tell of him he was an odd man.
“Thank you, Mr Barnes.” The appreciation was just as earnest, completely genuine. “It’s real kind of you to take an interest when I know you don’t need any more to worry about.”
Between being crippled and his wife helping chase down a murderer, there was plenty enough for him to be concerned about.
***
Bucky chuckled. "Probably not, but you could always send a letter through the Post," he teased. It would definitely be better if his wife checked in on Molly instead of himself anyway. The last thing he needed was people in town to start paying attention to him, especially if he was going to start camping on a regular basis with the Sheriff.
"You're welcome, Miss Walker," he replied. Even though she was right about him not needing more to worry about, it wasn't in him to just walk away from someone who needed something that he could do. And he could try to help this very kind young woman who had a lot of responsibilities on her young shoulders.
And it didn't exactly hurt him to spend the next couple of hours getting to know her better and sharing a bit about his own life growing up. She was definitely good company and he did like talking to her. As far as people went, Molly Walker was pretty damn alright and he hated just about everyone that wasn't his family.
***